Another month is all but gone. Hard to believe May is almost over.  Now we are heading into the all too hot days of summer.


Another month means another row to be posted.
Once again, the top row is the original and the bottom row is mine.  I omitted one of the rows.  There just wasn't room to fit them all in this time.  I took this picture in a hurry and really didn't take much time to set it up.  Obviously. 

I had good intentions with my row but must say I'm a bit disappointed in how it turned out.  I searched and searched until I found something that would go with the other rows.  The deer should have been perfect but it took me way too long to make it.  Right at 4 1/2 hours.  For ONE BLOCK.  The block is a Pam Bono design. I'm so glad she creates designs that don't have to be paper pieced but wow it took a lot of time. By the time I finished it I wasn't in the mood to figure much else out.  The trees came from a pattern in a Quiltmaker magazine. I'm sorry I don't remember the designer's name.  What I don't like about the row is that the background on the deer doesn't match up with the background on the trees and NO WAY was I going to remake any of it.  The "snow" looks whiter than it shows up in the picture.


My sister Cathy made the second row. I love the way her snowflakes turned out.  And those little tiny stars were not paper pieced. Wow. 


Happy Quilting,


Julie

Barn Blocks

My sister Joyce did something I find to be pretty incredible. On Saturday she asked if I wanted to make a trip to Herington with her. I thought we were going to pick up something for Bill, but on the way she told me she had ordered herself a barn block. We discussed different patterns. I told her I would probably go with a Carpenter's Wheel. At that point she probably avoided telling me her choice.
When we got to our destination the husband of the lady who made the blocks invited us into the garage to pick them up.  I know that my eyes got as big as saucers.  I know that I shed more than one tear. And I know that I said in a very loud voice - that's my quilt.  And it was.

My sister chose my block design from the quilt I made mom.  It's also the quilt that Quiltmaker Magazine published on their blog as a block of the month.

The barn blocks were made by a lady named Julie Keithline. Didn't she do a fantastic job. I'm glad she added all of the other colors in the string pieced area.  It will make each of them more visible up on a wall.  Joyce let me have first pick.  I chose the block on the top left. I like the red and yellow.  Another thing that Julie Keithline did was use the original colors in the centers of the blocks.  She put so much detail in using different methods to make it really look like different fabrics.  Uunfortunately, she wasn't at home when we picked up the blocks. I would have loved to talk to her.  Her husband did say that she had been interviewed for a magazine and that these were the blocks she was working on at the time.  So I'll be on the lookout for them to be published somewhere.


Thank you sister. What a gift.


Julie

New rows for quilt guild. Yes, it is now May 1st and these blocks have been done for quite a while.  But I've been very busy for quite a while too.

Again, the top row is the original and the bottom row is mine.  I try to work with the original colors but in this picture it sure looks like I took mine from the applique row.  It all looks better together in person.

I've now got the row to make that is due at the May meeting.  I haven't even opened the bag and looked yet.  Better get that done before time gets away from me.

The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy.  I still work for the same Association but we've sold the office and the main part of the business is moving to Wichita (after 85 years in Topeka). While my part, the bookkeeping, is staying in Topeka at a new location.  That has meant a lot of organizing, throwing out and packing.  And now the unpacking at my office.  I'm sharing an office with another company.  Which to me feels like I'm starting a new job.  For now it's uncomfortable at best.  But it will improve with time. What  I need right now are for the weekends to out number the workdays. And since that's not going to happen I just need to get over it and get to work.

Oh, happy day.

Julie